A Prince In Spring
by takeBACK
Summary: A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. ‘I’m so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!’ SasuSaku
1. I :A Prince and His Healer

**Title: **A Prince In The Spring Time

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

**Summary:** A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

**Pairings:** Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

**Rating:** T for Teen

**Chapter word count: 4813**

**A/N:** This is actually a private roleplay between me and my friend and I thought it would make a good story so I've decided to post it. She is writing Sasuke and I'm writing Sakura.

**Disclaimer:** This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

**Chapter One: **A Prince and his Healer

Sasuke spurned his horse on with his heels as quickly as he could, urging him to get away and quickly, because there were likely to be pursuers. It was all he could do, though he deplored running away from battle, but his entire company had been ambushed and he was already injured. Blood ran down his leg from the arrow buried deep in his thigh, some of the other wounds and bruises having already staunched and disappeared.

It had been an ambush, while they were out hunting. Sasuke didn't know who had done so, but he was willing to bet that it was his brother who had hired the mercenaries. He scowled as he spurred his chestnut mare to go faster along the forest pathway, and hissed as it jarred the wound in his leg.

He could hardly see anymore, from the blinding pain. His vision was swimming, and he had surely lost too much blood to be safe. Plus, he had used up so much of his magical reserve, utilizing his fire attacks, and he was much too weak to even be riding a horse.

Surely he was far enough away by now. After all, he had been traveling quickly for a while, and they had done quite some damage to the mercenaries. They would probably take their time, knowing that he was injured - follow the trail of blood and pick him off at their leisure. He gritted his teeth - he couldn't allow that to happen. He had to return to his parents.

But he couldn't continue to ride - not in his condition. He slowed the horse to a walk, and then to a halt, so that he could slide off of the chestnut mare's back, his leg buckling underneath him. He could send the horse back - she would find the castle and his absence from her back would set the alert that something had happened. It was about a day's ride to the castle, and the horses were trained to see the castle as their home and return to it without question.

He put his hand on her whithers, before speaking to her. _"Oushiro ni iku,"_ he ordered her, the tone of the language crisp and smooth over his tongue - the horse would understand the spoken words and return.

The horse eyed him with a baleful brown eye before starting off at first a walk, then a trotting pace, before breaking into something of a slow canter. She must be tired, and he didn't blame her - he had been riding hard for a good two hours. He breathed out and his leg crumpled underneath him, and he dragged his body so he was propped up against a tree.

The horse would be to the castle within a day or so. By which time he would probably be dead, but he couldn't dwell on that. For now he had to do what he could to keep himself alive. His hand rested on his sword, Kusanagi, which was still sheathed. He could draw it at a moment's notice, but not injured like he was.

He groaned in pain, before reaching for the arrow that protruded from his leg. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the arrow by the shaft and pulled it from the wound, and he bit down harder with his teeth as he did so. The wound still bled sluggishly, and it was painful, but not nearly as much so.

With that the heir to the Uchiha dynasty leaned back against the trunk of the tree. His vision swam before him, drifting in and out of focus, and he shook his head. He couldn't fall asleep, not now - he would die, and then all would be lost. But the depths of sleep promised to take all of the pain away, and he found he was just so exhausted...

Seconds later he slipped into deep unconsciousness, slumping against the tree.

--

The winds ruffled her hair as she walked throughout the large village that surrounded the Uchiha castle. The streets were busy with various people and various smells. She chuckled lightly to herself as the smell of ramen came to her nose her thoughts immediately turning to Uzumaki Naruto, Knight of the Uchiha Kingdom. Her eyes softened sadly and she had to choke back a sob. Uzumaki had been her 'lover' per say but he had been killed recently. It had taken the news a while to get to her and she was still recovering.

Her only thoughts were that if only if she had been on the castle's healing squad she could of saved him. But...Tsuande-hime prevented her to even go near the castle. She was lucky she could even go into the village since most the people were uneducated. Bringing her slim pale fingers to her eyes she traced the red the permanently stained that area of her face. It was her mark as a Halfling, the daughter of a spring spirit. While spirits and most other fantasy creatures were adored their Halflings were not.

Pure blood creatures were fine but if something had dirty blood in it, it was a cast out. That's why her 'mother' lived out in the woods away from people but still close enough to go to the castle if summoned. She remembered the pained looked on Tsunade's face as Jiyrara had come to her 'families' house to tell them about Naruto. The pain on both their faces and Shizune-nee-chan's. She clutched her cloak closer and she willed herself not to cry. If Jiyrara didn't cry that whole time then neither would she. Jiyrara was Naruto's make shift father, the head of the Knight's, after Naruto's true father Minato Namikaze died. He had all the right to cry but he didn't so nor would she.

The sixteen year old girl who wandered the streets was named Haruno Sakura. She was an experienced Healer and fighter trained under the famed Tsuande-hime. She was told countless times by the people who knew Tsuande and herself that she would easily pass her sensei in a few years. She sighed and walked into a small shop, a small going off alerting that a customer had come into the shop. It was small and dark but she didn't mind. A couple of candles lit the store up and she easily found what she needed being to that particular store countless times. She placed the herbs and ingredients onto the counter and the man there looked up.

"Ah Haruno-chan, nice to see you again. That will be 3000 ryo's." The man behind the counter stated. "The pleasure is all mine Izumo-kun." She said placing the required the coin down onto the counter. She swooped the purchases she bought into the basket she was carrying. She started to head out the door when Izumo spoke up. "Be careful Haruno-chan. I heard there were some enemy forces traveling around the force. Apparently they're on the hunt for somebody." She twisted her head to grin at him. "Thanks for the heads up. But you know I can handle myslef. Ja ne," she said walking out the door.

As she stepped outside she pulled up the hood of her cloak to cover her unusual hair colour. She quickly headed out of the village, following the main dirt road out. She hummed lightly to herself ready to cut into the forest but something on the horizon made her change her mind. She could she figures on horsed galloping towards a lone man, injured by the looks of it if she squinted her eyes, with their swords drawn. "Let's just kill him now," she her one of them speak as their voices carried over. "No, master told use to bring him to be tortured." She heard them argue and she became crossed. She would allow some one to be killed or tortured if she could help it.

She placed her basket on the ground and took off her cloak revealing her clothes underneath. A sleeveless red shirt with a white circle on the back (the sign of a healer), black shorts with bandages and a kunai pouch strapped to her left thigh, black gloves on her hands, and heeled 'warrior' sandals. She dashed over the group of men and put herself in front of the unconscious man. "I will not let you hurt this man anymore," she spat. The men turned their attention to her and started to laugh at her words. "You think that you, a little girl, can stop us?" They sneered at her. She only grinned and raised her fists. "Why don't you come down from there and show me that I can't stop you, you teme's." She jaunted right back.

They narrowed their eyes and slid off their horses swords drawn and already jabbing at her. The first blow came down upon her and she easily stopped the sword, clutching in her hand. The man's eyes widened as she tightened her grip and the metal crumpled. She jerked her arms back taking the sword right out of his grip and threw it away. She ducked under him and punched him in the gut, sending him flying. She swirled out of the way of the second man and hit their steed's on the asses.

Immediately the horses reared up and galloped away in panic. She turned her gaze upon the last two men. "Maybe I'll be a little more humane on you then I was on that other poor bloke who probably has some ruptured organs," she jeered. Before the men could even make a move her hands were glowing and she had already moved around them, jutting their muscles, making them immobile. She rolled her eyes and dragged them to the other side of the road underneath a tree. She retrieved the other man and leaned him up against the same tree. She pulled out a kunai from the pouch and carved a symbol into the tree above them. It was a crude cherry blossom with a circle around it.

She pocketed the kunai back into her pouch and turned her attention back to the man who was bleeding out. Not even paying attention who he was she went into medic mode. She tisked at the fact that he drew out the arrow, which was stupid. He only made himself bleed out more and made himself prone to infection. Her hands began to glow and she healed his wounds. It took a good fifteen minutes and sweat rolled off her forehead. He had taken a lot of damage so it wasn't a surprised that he passed out from the pain. She pondered if she should just leave him here to be found but she guessed that someone else might try to kill him.

The only choice was to bring him to the house. She groaned as she managed to sling him onto her back. He wasn't to heavy and the weight would be nothing if she hadn't expanded her spirit energy on healing him. While spirit energy was different from her magical energy it took a toll on her physical being. She grunted and headed back to the cut off to head to her house. She bent down carefully and grabbed the basket and cloak. Immediately she hopped off into the dark force. She traveled for a good half an hour before she came upon a more serene area. A river ran by her house and tree's surrounded it. Cherry blossom tree's in fact that had a spell on them. The cherry blossoms would never wilt and would stay alive all year long. They didn't need the spell at this time of the year though, since it was the spring season.

She pushed the door open to the healer's house and called in, "Tsuande! We have a guest!" She trotted inside and into a room with a bed that patients usually resided in. She dropped the man onto the hard bed with a thump. Finally she got a good look at his face. He was pretty handsome, with pale skin and raven coloured hair. Although she had no idea who he was. "Tsuande you drunk," she screamed. "Get in here!"

A woman that only looked in her twenties though really in her fifties, with large breasts, blonde hair in pigtails and chestnut eyes along with a purple diamond on her forehead came into the room. "Geez Sakura gimme some time." Her eyes looked at her student/daughter and then to their 'guest'. Her eyes widened slightly knowing exactly who it was. A small smile came to her face and she waved her hand at Sakura. "Leave him here. I'll look after him for a bit. I guess you just had to save everything in sight," Tsuande teased though she was secretly grateful that her student was the way she was. If not the prince of the Uchiha kingdom would of been dying on the side of the road.

"I found him unconscious with multiple serious wounds about the be killed," Sakura drawled. Tsuande glanced at her and let out a soft, "Oh." Sakura raised an eyebrow and headed out the room "I saved him and healed him at the very least. I'm going to go to hot springs 'kay?" Sakura questioned. Tsuande nodded allowing her student to go. She glanced back down at Uchiha Sasuke, heir and prince to the Uchiha Kingdom.

Oh Sakura...if only you knew who you saved, Tsuande thought.

--

Sasuke was deeply unconscious, from blood loss and pain and delirium, and he drifted in and out of dream-like thoughts and a kind of black abyss of absolutely nothing. He was completely unaware as to what was going on outside of his own mind, but that was a different matter altogether.

While he slept, he almost dreamed. He dreamed of his mother and father - King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto, of the Uchiha Dynasty. His father a strong man who had been born and raised to the throne just like Sasuke was now being, and his mother a beautiful woman from the outlying countries. They had been proud people, somewhat stern, before their deaths. That was before Kakashi had been appointed Regent and had raised the boy-prince since childhood.

Then was his former best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. He had been a loyal night, exuberant and strong. He had grown up with Sasuke, from the time that they were just young boys - they had learned swordfighting together, though Naruto was always better with kunai than kenjutsu. And Sasuke had usually been better than him at everything. He had disappeared when he had gone off to fight, and had been missing for months on end. It had been a tragedy, knowing that he had fallen to the Kyuubi no Youko just as his father had.

He also dreamed of his brother, his home, his family - and then visions of a bright light, something warm and inviting, showered him and warmed his face. He breathed in deeply, wondering if he was dying.

Perhaps he was. He wondered what death would be like, if it would be nice. He would see his parents, perhaps, see their spirits. He wasn't bitter, even though he knew that now his brother would ascend to the throne as law declared.

The last of the Uchiha Dynasty, a traitorous, murderous bastard.

It was almost ironic.

But for now he was warm, and his wounds didn't hurt so much, although if he was dying why would his wounds hurt? But the fact remained that they did, and he drew in breath experimentally and found that he could do that as well which was odd because he was supposed to be dying.

So then perhaps...

His dark, obsidian-colored eyes fluttered open, seeing rose-colored light and warm cherry wood, and he frowned wondering where he was. He was in an unfamiliar location, somewhere he hadn't been before, and then in seconds he was on his feet with Kusanagi drawn.

His faithful sword, said to be a sword of legend, that he had used ever since he was fifteen. It had been a gift from his Kenjutsu instructor and one of the three court counselors, Orochimaru-sama. He helped Kakashi with his task as regent, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya.

He hissed in breath as his leg buckled underneath him, although his hand gripped Kusanagi even tighter. He would have to be on his guard because it was obvious that he had been taken somewhere and he didn't know where.

"Tsk, Uchiha-sama," he heard a voice, and the prince whirled around immediately, ready to attack at a moment's notice. His dark eyes widened as he realized who it was - Tsunade, known as the greatest healer in the kingdom of Konoha. "Is that the way to treat the people who saved your life?"

Sasuke looked at her in surprise, before he swallowed hard. He sheathed his sword, knowing that if he was in Lady Tsunade's care, he was safe - she was not only a great healer, but a great fighter as well. He gave her a formal bow, despite his injuries. "My apologies, Tsunade-sama. I thank you for saving my life."

Tsunade laughed, and shook her head. "It's not me who you should be thanking, Uchiha-sama. My apprentice was the one who found you and dragged you back. But lie down now, or you'll reopen your wounds."

Sasuke frowned. Apprentice? He hadn't known the woman had an apprentice. He did as she said, however - fighting healers usually didn't end up well, for the person who was injured. He had enough experience with that, he thought wryly.

Well, he supposed he would just have to do as they said, for the moment.

How annoying.

--

The said apprentice was soaking in the scorching hot water of the hot springs a little way from her home. Her skin took on a reddish tint but she couldn't feel the pain because of her heritage. Being half spirit had its advantages. The trees of the cherry blossom swayed around her and their beautiful blossoms swirled and twirled in the air. She took a relaxed sigh and wondered when Tsuande was going to teach her ultimate technique, the Rebirth jutsu.

Tsuande had been hesitant of teaching it to Sakura because the consequences would not be the same. Tsuande's age when the technique would be severely shorted but for Sakura it would not. Maybe a few minutes or hours off her already extended life. Sakura wouldn't be mortal like humans but she wouldn't be immortal either. She dipped her head into the water one more time and then heaved herself out of the water.

The steam gave her enough cover to not worry about being seen naked. Besides, how many people were out this deep in the forest? Sakura ringed the water out of her hair, leaving short hair damp and slightly darker then when it was dry. She patted herself down with her towel and threw on her red shirt but this time with only a pair of black sweat pants. No weapons, gloves or shoes. Holding her towel in her arms she walked slowly back to her house. She pondered on who the mysterious man could be? A lord, noble, knight, peasant? He was handsome enough to be one of the first three since he could easily marry some lady etc. She chuckled to herself at the thought.

Well that's what most people did in these times. Try to marry into royalty for money and safety. She rolled her eyes. Stupid people only married for those reasons and not for love. Then again it was time of war and people wanted safety. The exotic Halfling neared the house and twirled around, the blossoms in the air following her movements swirling around her. After all she was a spirit, even with human blood, of spring. She had the ability to control certain things, like cherry blossoms. She extended her arms and a bundle of the petals piled into them. She buried her face into them, loving their sweet smell.

She kept the bundle in her arms as she walked into the house. She would but them in some vases. "Tsuande I'm home!" She called letting the older women know she was safe. She passed the room the patient was being held in, the cherry blossoms blocking her view of him, and headed straight for the kitchen. She placed the blossoms on the table and grabbed a vase filling it with water. She placed the blossoms inside and picked the vase up. The patient's room could use some colour.

Holding the vase in front of her she shuffled into the room and placed it on a counter not even noticing that the man she had saved was awake. Tsuande coughed and Sakura was brought back to reality. "Sakura-chan, your patient is awake," the women said with a smirk. "Oh?" Sakura said turning around to fully look at him. Now awake she could see the colour of his eyes. The onyx eyes only made him more handsome. She blinked a few times and looked at Tsuande. "Sakura," Tsuande said with a smug tone. "I would like you to meet the one, the only Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura tilted her head in confusion. Was that name supposed to be familiar? "Eh?" Sakura questioned.

Tsuande almost hit herself, but only blamed herself for the girl's isolation. It was her fault after all that Sakura was cut off from a lot of information. Tsuande sighed and brought a hand to her head. "Sakura, he's the prince." Sakura blinked and then let out a long, "Ooohh!" The realization finally came to who she had saved. Well she was right about him being royalty. Only he was at the top of the food chain. She stifly bowed and then stood back up. "Sorry for my ignorance Uchiha-sama. Please forgive me for my ignorance." She kept her head bowed slightly in respect for the future king, who only needed a bride to ascend to the throne. Otherwise Kakashi-baka, a man she knew personally, continue to be in charge of the kingdom.

--

Sasuke only lay there, waiting on the bed, as Tsunade did her work around the cottage. His wounds stung beyond what was imaginable, but at least they didn't overcome him with pain. He wasn't anywhere near to passing out again, although he had hardly any of his strength left. Nearly dying and then being healed sapped him of his strength.

He no longer wore his armor, but instead a white cotton shirt and black breeches, which were comfortable and were clean. Which was a good thing. His armor was probably caked with blood, anyways, from all of the bleeding that he had done. It had been nondescript, nothing fancy - they were attempting to stay inconspicuous, although that hadn't worked out so well.

His entire company was dead. He frowned at that fact - he had to square with it, that they had all been killed in a single day, in a single ambush. Ten good men who had been under his command attacked and killed while fighting in his defense. And he would have died had it not been for their sacrifices.

He owed his life to many people, it seemed. He would thank the families of the men who had died in his service, and give them the proper consolation - it was only right, it seemed. And then he would thank this Healer's Apprentice for finding him and healing him.

When she walked into the room, he marveled at her appearance. She wasn't particularly beautiful, although her skin was fair, but she had strikingly green eyes. Her nose was soft and rounded and her forehead broad, her lips thin and pink and her expression innocent. She didn't even look his way as she walked toward some vases in the room.

Certainly the most striking thing about her appearance was her hair. It was a soft shade of pink, matching the cherry blossoms outside, and reminded him of spring. His obsidian eyes widened at her appearance - a spirit, it seemed, although she looked human enough. Usually spirits had at least one inhuman quality about them, to show their heritage.

A Halfling, then. He had _heard_ about the existence of Halflings, but had never met one. Those with superstitions feared them, thinking their blood impure, and feared the powers that they were imbued with.

He sat up as she turned to see him, his ribs protesting at the movement, but he figured he should greet her properly. It was the right thing to do - she had saved his life and he knew that he should thank her for what she had done.

He gave an amused look at Tsunade as she informed the girl of his heritage, that he was indeed the prince and heir to the throne of the Leaf Kingdom. Soon-to-be-king, if he could find a bride, because unfortunately the laws of the land stated that the king had to be married. It was an outdated law, but one that had ensured the succession of the Uchiha bloodline from generation to generation. He gave a bit of a sharp laugh at her ignorance, before catching himself.

He nodded to her stiffly, unable to bow from a sitting position and anyways, he was much too hurt to do so. Not to mention he was technically the prince - he didn't have to bow to anyone unless he felt like it.

"You are the apprentice? I thank you, then, for saving my life," he said, his voice stiff and almost formal as he spoke to her, because he wasn't used to thanking people for anything. But saving his life was enough, he supposed. He looked at her, meeting her spring-green eyes with his own dark ones. "It only seems fair that if you know my name, I know yours," he told her, his voice somewhat amused.

--

She almost cursed when he gave a sharp laugh at her ignorance but it wasn't her fault. She crossed her arms and her eyes hardened but his thanks were enough to soften them. He had an amused look on his face and narrowed her eyes. Was he examining her? Could he see that she wasn't human. Sakura gulped as he asked for her name. She didn't tell alot of people about herself, especially her full name.

Having a full name of a spirit, fairy or any magical creature bonded them to do the will to control said creature. Sakura was only a Halfling so it wouldn't be as bad but he certainly could expect her to give him her full name. Even if he was her prince she had rights. "Ah Uchiha-sama. I am Sakura," she told him. He never asked for her full name so she would not give it. She bit her lip and she watched him flinch from his wounds and sighed.

She daintily glided over to his beside and sat down. She saw that he was going to resist but she shook her head. Geez, Tsuande should have finished healing him, especially since he was the prince. Not caring if she was being inappropriate she pulled his shirt up and held it with one hand. He would be bewildered but he was still injured. Her right hand that was free began to glow and she pressed it softly against his warm toned abdomen. His body greedily ate her chakra and soon enough any pain and wounds he would of still had there were gone. She moved to his leg were the arrow had pierced flesh and pouted. He was wearing pants so access to the wound would be hard.

Even if she had roughly healed it and bandaged it she wanted to heal it completely. It was embarrassing to ask but she would as her duty as a medic.

"Could...you remove your pants please?"


	2. II :Temperature

**Title: **A Prince In The Spring Time

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

**Summary:** A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

**Pairings:** Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

**Rating:** T for Teen

**Chapter word count: 4484**

**A/N:** ;p It was a fun ending last time. Anyways here is the next chapter. ;p Thanks to Ukeire, kt, Naruto8ramen, Laura-chan (Who pointed out to me that I was spelling Tsunade wrong. XD), michelle and Tip Of The Top Hat for reviewing! It means a lot to me!

D I was going to wait until Friday or Sunday to post but I want to post it know. But don't expect the next one for a while. I want to write them out first. I have chapter three done and we're working on chapter for.

**Disclaimer:** This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

**Chapter Two: Temperature **

Sasuke nodded as she told him her first name only. It was a convention among immortals, fae, and other such creatures to never give a full name, or to simply give a pseudonym for everyday use. If an immortal gave you their full name, they were at your beck and call the entire life of the human they gave it to.

Sasuke recalled the fairytale about the fae woman who had given her name to a foolish woodsman, who had used the fae's powers to squander his money on drink until his death when to fae. Only then was the fae released. It was a cautionary tale, for both immortals, and for humans.

He hadn't known that it worked for Halflings like this girl here. Although it made sense - the magical blood that was in her would bind her, although the binding might not be as strong as the binding of a true magical creature. But the principle would be the same. So it made sense that she only told him one name.

He nodded to her, smiling a bit at the name and at the trees blossoming all around the house. "Fitting," he told her, his voice rather amused at the kind of joke. The pun on her name - and on the season, and on where she lived, and he wondered if they had chosen this location specifically. From her name, he would guess that she was born in the spring, when the Sakura trees were in bloom.

It was spring now, of course. Funny how those things seemed to happen. Reminding him that it would be his birthday soon and - if he could find a bride by that time - his coronation ceremony. He was finally old enough to ascend to the throne. Nearly twenty years of age, twelve of which had been spent in Kakashi's care. Twelve years since his older brother's betrayal and the murder of the family.

Sasuke wondered if he would have gone for the throne. He probably would have tried to, although the younger son had managed to get away from his older brother's clutches. He probably had some strain of madness, but madness had nothing to do with monarchy. Bloodlines did.

But his attention was on this pink-haired halfling who stood in front of him now, and she pressed her hands against his chest, underneath his shirt. For a second his eyes widened at what she was doing, but then her hands began to glow with green chakra - healing energy.

He sighed and sat back, as the cool sensation of the chakra flowed into his body, healing his wounds. The ache of them eased into almost nothingness, until they were just the slightest bit sore. It was obvious that Lady Tsunade had taught her well, and he wondered exactly who this girl-child was that she warranted the apprenticeship of one such as Tsunade.

He frowned slightly when she asked him to remove his pants, but nodded, standing from the bed for a second. He reached for the belt that held the black breeches in place and let them slide from his legs, revealing the garish-looking arrow wound that had caused him so much trouble.

He lay back on the bed, his expression blank and betraying nothing. It had no effect on him, despite her blushing at her request. It was just so that he could be healed, that was all - there was no reason to be embarrassed about it.

The Uchiha heir closed his eyes again, before pausing and asking her the question on his mind. "How did you come to be Tsunade-sama's apprentice?" he asked, his voice soft and rather curious. He was interested - after all, he had known Lady Tsunade all of his life, and yet he had never known that she had an apprentice until now.

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She was surprised at how calm he was at taking his pants off. Then again he seemed to be the no nonsense type of person, unlike Naruto had been. The very first time she had meet the over enthusiastic blond who worship ramen, the situation was almost exactly the same as the one she was currently in with the raven haired prince. The sixteen year old, nearly seventeen could only reminisce in memories as she pulled the remainder of the arrow out of his thigh and began to heal the deep wound.

_Blues eyes groggily awoke and the fourteen year old smiled at the blond who laid below her. She had found some boy, a page it seemed, who was training out in the forest it seemed in secrecy. She blinked a few times as he moaned and then realized that he was wounded and with a stranger. He lurched forward into a sitting position, only to reopen the wound on his stomach. He winced and Sakura immediately pressed her hand to the bloody wound healing it. Tsunade-hime wasn't around, so she would have to do it herself. Naruto gazed up at the pink hair beauty. _

_"Who are you?" He asked softly. She smiled at him and her eyes darted to his leg. The innocent fourteen year old moved her hand down to his waist trying to take his pants off. Naruto yelped and pushed her away. "What do you think your doing!" He yelled shaking his fist. Sakura blinked and tilted her head. "Gomen patient-sama. I was only trying to heal you." Naruto, confused looked down at his leg and almost cried out. A couple of arrows only barely pierced the skin, but one was way deep in there. "Kuso!" He swore. He glanced at Sakura and muttered something to himself. "You're a healer?" He questioned. _

_Sakura bit her lip and nodded. "Kind of. I'm still learning...but from the best!" Naruto sighed and guess he had no choice but to let the petite fourteen year old work on him. He slowly pulled off his pants and Sakura went right to work. A little while later he was healed and she sat beside him whipping his face with a wet cloth. "So tell me...," Naruto said. "What is your name?" Sakura smiled and placed the clothe back into the basin to soak it. "Sakura," she said with a smile. "Haruno Sakura." At that time she had said her name with no hesitation not truly knowing what the consequences could be. _

_Naruto being Naruto, had no idea what knowing her full name could be. Only moments later Tsuande came storming into the house. "Sakura!" The famous healer shouted. "Where in the worlds name...," she trailed off seeing Naruto, her eyes widdening. Naruto's eyes too widened and then he grinned. "Baa-chan!" Naruto shouted. Tsunade's eye twitched and she noggied Naruto. "Brat! I told you not to call me that!" _

_She, Sakura, could only watch on in fascination as the two fought but in a loving way. Later that night, after Naruto had supper with the two women, did he leave. He grinned and Sakura and she wringed her hand's together. "Will I see you again Naruto-kun?" She asked softly. Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "You betcha," he said enthusiastically. "Dattebayo!"_

_Believe it..._

Only when she finished reliving her memory did she realize the prince had asked her a question. She blinked a few times and dipped her head. "Gomen, I drifted off." She said softly. The daughter of spring finished healing the prince and she lifted his leg onto her lap. She started to wrap bandages around his leg and finished tying them up. She continued to sit on the bed though, as she would answer his question. She pulled a blanket up to his chest, since it was nearing night fall and even though it was spring it still got cold at night. The fire place was in the other room where they would have to move later if they did not want to become human popsicles throughout the night.

"I meet Tsunade-hime when I was eight. I was an orphan, both my parents being...," she trailed off. Her parent's had been killed off due to her birth and their relationship. Humans and immortals were never supposed to love each other, especially breed. Especially if said human was a noble. Her father was a noble, ruler of the Haruno lands. It was Uchiha Itachi that had her parent's killed. Her father, a noble. Her mother, a powerful spring spirit. "Had been killed and I was alone. I meet Tsunade and Shizune in a gambling place, since I had been captured. I was to be," she clenched her eyes together painfully at the spot. "Sold as a slave, more or less one that would grow up to become a concubine." She sighed and rubbed her arm.

"In that place Tsunade and Shizune spotted what was going on and saved me. Since then, learning about my heritage and my ability to control my spiritual and magical energy perfectly, she took me in as an apprentice and as a daughter," Sakura finished with affection in her voice. She loved Tsunade and Shizune like the family she had lost. She smiled down at Sasuke and began to pull him up. It was dark out now and the temperatures would be dropping. She heaved him onto her shoulder despite his protests.

She brought him into the other room where Tsunade looked up from her sake. Sakura dropped Sasuke on the fairly large couch and threw a few thick blankets over him. She looked over at her drunken master and sighed. She took the sake away, even though Tsunade protested with a "Hey." She smiled down at her poor master and helped the women over to her bed, tucking her in. Tsunade may of been the best healer, but she was getting old, and Sakura afraid senile. Her master had dealt with many dark things in her past.

Sakura quickly went outside and grabbed enough logs to last the night. She went back inside, and locked the door and headed back to the room where she left Sasuke and Tsuande. She placed a log and some kindling in the fireplace. She stacked the rest of the wood up beside the fire place and knelt down. She brought her fingers to her lips and said, "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu." Multiple fire balls flew from her mouth and lit the fire up. Soon enough, the temperature dropped and Sakura took a spot on the cold stone floor.

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Sasuke nodded when she mentioned how she had met Tsunade. Her parents were killed and she was to be sold into slavery - a common practice, used especially to hush up some kind of scandal, though it was a miracle that she hadn't been killed along with her parents. But even so, the story made sense in his mind.

He knew of Tsunade's love for gambling, her passion for the drink, and her general misconduct. It had been a court scandal for a while, but it had passed, as all things do, and people had gotten used to it. Although her general ineptitude for the hobby that she chose to indulge herself in was generally looked upon with disfavor, especially when she used palace funds to do so.

The sannin - the three court advisors, positions long held in esteem - were strange people. Tsunade was a gambling addict, Jiraiya was a womanizer and often very lewd, and Orochimaru was quiet and kept to himself. Sasuke had spent the most time with Orochimaru, as the man had trained him in both kenjutsu - the sword arts - and ninjutsu - the magical arts. He had been taught how to summon snakes at will and use several other jutsu, as well as utilizing Kusanagi in his other powers. The chidori, which his surrogate father had taught him, and the katon jutsu that the Uchiha dynasty was famous for.

This, of course, included their kekkei-genkai, the Sharingan. An eye-trait that was the reason why Uchiha blood was in power. He could, at will, change his eyes to the bloody red of the sharingan and they would be able to see anything and track any movement. It was unique to his bloodline.

There were, in fact, two families that held eye-techniques of this sword. The Sharingan, unique to the Uchiha family, and the Byakugan, unique to the Hyuuga family, which ruled over the neighboring country. It was speculated that the Uchiha and Hyuuga had once been one family, but had grown apart over successive generations.

The Hyuuga had a daughter around his age, and there had been talk of them marrying, to cement an alliance between the two families after he was born. But now that he was the only one who could carry on his bloodline - because Itachi's bloodline would forever be in disgrace - the thought of mixing the sharingan and byakugan bloodlines was impossible.

She had finished with his leg by this time, bandaging it. It still hurt, but it was a dull kind of ache, one that he could ignore. It was on the mend, and he could rest easier now knowing that he wasn't going to die of blood loss for the moment. At least if nobody stabbed him in his sleep, which was a morbid thought.

Then again...

He would sleep with Kusanagi beside him, and sleep light. Even though he was tired, he couldn't risk the mercenaries showing up again to do him in. He didn't know how well this cottage was secured, but it never hurt to be vigilant, especially when there was someone after you.

Sasuke gave a cry when she hauled him over her shoulder. "Oi!" he exclaimed, giving her a harsh look. He was the _prince_! Nobody carried around Uchiha Sasuke like he was some rag doll! And especially not some pink-haired Halfling girl. He struggled a little bit, but realized the futileness of the situation - if he fell, he would probably re-injure himself.

He gave her a sour look as she dropped him on the couch, and then at her retreating back as she left, and finally when she returned to the room. It wasn't exactly a matter of disliking her - he had his pride, and she was just _annoying._

He took vague satisfaction in the fact that he knew Katon jutsu better than her. Of course, he was Uchiha - they were renowned for their control of fire. Her control might be good, but it was obvious that she had spent her time on healing. This was probably just a simple spell, learned for the purpose of starting the fire only.

He frowned as she lay down on the stone floor. It was obvious that he was taking her place for sleeping, and suddenly he felt like an intruder. They had taken him in, and she had healed him. It was... the least he could do. Or maybe it was that code of chivalry kicking in again. Damn thing.

He gave her a pointed look and pulled some of the covers off of his body, moving so that there would be room for her on the couch. "Oi, Sakura," he told her, his voice sharp. Commanding. Because that was what he was used to - giving commands. He was a prince, after all. "Come here."

An invitation for her to share the space with him. For warmth, obviously. It might be spring, but the nights could still be cold, and she would be more comfortable with him. That was all - practicality. And because he was grateful that she hadn't simply left him to die, as she could have so easily done.

He frowned at her slightly, his expression somewhat stern.

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Her eyes had been closed when he commanded that she come and share the bed with him. She felt her cheeks heat up but sharing technically wasn't necessary. While she could feel cold and hot it really didn't make a difference if she was either. Even if it was uncomfortable. She was about to tell him no but his commanding voice and his stern expression made her do otherwise.

He would probably get mad at her for not accepting his generosity and such. Embarrassed, since she wasn't use to opposite sex save Naruto, and they hadn't really done much but kiss. She scrambled off the floor and sat down on the couch. She bit her lip and he stared her down. She let out a sigh and laid down, her head at the oppisite side of the couch, her feet extending to his waist. He was taller then her, so his feet came up the side of her back. She drew the covers up to her face.

"Thank you," she said softly. She closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep. A habit of her's kicked in and her legs entangled in his, enjoying the warmth. She smiled in her sleep but soon they turned to confusion and fear.

_Sakura panted as the man with red eyes pushed her to the ground. Her small body as a child shakily got back up again and lunged at the man's leg. He only proceeded to kick her away. Cold red eyes, with lines that protruded from them and hair as black as night were qualities she could remember of her parent's murder. She could remember his face and name very well. Uchiha...Itachi. _

_Heir to the Uchiha kingdom. Her parent's body laid not to far away from her, as dead corpses. Even though immortals weren't suppose to die, her mother gave up her life for her father. Tears fell down the eight year old's cheeks and she yelled at the man who had ruined her life. "You big meanie! How dare you hurt mommy and daddy__!" __She screamed. "You bastard!" Dirty language came from her mouth. She had picked up a few things around her father's mansion. The murder, Itachi, raised an eyebrow__"My my, how is it a sweet young girl like you came to learn such foul language,"__ he teased. _

_Sakura screamed and drew a danger from her silk kimono. Her parents always made her carry it around in case someone attacked her. Unexpectedly she lunged forward and stabbed the heir in the leg. Surprised he let out a yelp and grabbed her by the hair. __"You brat,"__ he hissed__"I'm suppose to kill all three of you but I suppose I could let you live in hate and poverty."__ Itachi picked the eight year old Sakura up and headed out the house. He mounted his steed and road off into the night with the screaming Halfling. A little away from everything he tossed a beaten Sakura to the dirt. "__Live in hate little girl. It's your fault they're dead."_

Sakura awoke in a sweat, her eyes widening her fear. She could hear Sasuke's shallow breathe and Tsunade's snores. She blushed as she felt that her legs were intertwined in Sasuke's. She frowned though and hoped she wouldn't wake him up when she slipped off the couch. She managed to get up and she hopped he was still sleeping. With tears in her eyes, she left the small house and went out into the cold. The freezing breeze nipped at her skin and relished in the pain. Yes, it was her birth that caused her parent's death and caused her to hate herself for the past twelve years.

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Sasuke allowed her to settle in next to him, his obsidian eyes closing as she lay down. Her feet were about level with his chest, his with her lower back, and he nodded slightly in satisfaction. He felt her legs entangle with his, and found himself enjoying the proximity.

For a while he just listened to her breathing, allowing that to calm him. Kusanagi was in reach, but he couldn't help but feel anxious because of the ambush. He was still agonizing over losing his company - ten good men dead, because of him, and he knew that he would have to tell their families.

It was what they had signed up for, what they had agreed to do in the service of the crown. But even that was small consolation as he knew that it was because of his presence that they had been ambushed. Although they may not have been left alone, had he been there. He supposed the least that he could do for them was stay alive, and remain on the throne.

He would need someone to marry for that. It was as simple as that, just finding a girl who he could take to his bed and who would mind the house. There were women throwing themselves at him, because of his power and his money and his looks and all that he had accumulated. He had held off on marrying so long - not for idealistic visions of love or future happiness - but because he had to find someone suitable.

Someone who could be a domestic partner, control the household, and perhaps help him in ruling. Someone who would be candid with him, who wouldn't try to use his station for personal gain, someone who he could _trust._ Although the time was drawing nigh to choose somebody. And he had already brought up the idea of changing the law - they would have nothing of it.

Eventually, even through all of his thoughts, the dark-haired prince drifted into sleep.

_The courtyard was brightly lit, under the summer midday sun, which filtered down into the practice yards. The dark-haired young prince waited against the fence, his expression bored. When was Orochimaru going to show up? The man was later than usual, and he was usually impeccably on time. _

_He looked up as a pale-faced man walked through the door to the practice yards, carrying a blade under his arm. He wore the sword he would be practicing with on his belt, in its sheathe, but the other sword puzzled him. _

_Orochimaru didn't say a word about that sword, as he set it against the fence and nodded to his pupil. Sasuke turned to him and drew his own sword - a blade that had served him well for all of the time that he had spent in training. _

_Seconds later Orochimaru attacked, not using his full strength because this was just a sparring match - or so he thought - but even so his speed was incredible. Their blades clashed, hit after hit, in rapid succession. _

_Sasuke grit his teeth, being pushed back by Orochimaru's prowess with the sword. He was mostly on the defensive now, as he only had time to bring up block after block, not enough to get in a swipe of his own. _

_Still, he was holding his ground. And he spun away after one of Orochimaru's attacks. He was quick on his feet, though Orochimaru was quicker, and this bought him the half second he needed to activate his chakra and therefore the sharingan. _

_For a moment he was on the offensive. He attacked in a flurry of successive strikes, able to see where Orochimaru would strike from and where he would move before he even did it, and counter each and every one of his moves. This was when Orochimaru stepped it up a notch. _

_Sasuke brought a downward slice on him, and he moved out of the way, sweeping Sasuke's feet out from under him. He took the fall rolling, keeping a hold of his sword, but the impact jarred him. _

_The offensive and defensive switched back and forth - Orochimaru was still going easy on him, and Sasuke knew it. He started to bear down on him, using a combination of strength and speed, and then before he knew it his blade was at his master's throat. _

_"Yield," he ordered, his tone formal. _

_Orochimaru nodded, and Sasuke dropped his sword. __"Good job, Sasuke-kun,"__ he said, his face twisted into an almost inhuman smile. Sasuke would have shuddered, if he wasn't used to the man's odd facial features. _

_Sasuke looked around when he heard clapping. Sure enough, they had gathered a crowd, and he shot a confused look to Orochimaru, who shook his head, heading over to the fence. He grabbed the sword that he had lay there and brought it over to the confused young prince. _

_"I think you're good enough to handle this now,"__ he said, handing the prince the curved sword with a bow. Sasuke bowed back, taking the sword. He drew it, seeing the mirror-polished metal and marveling at how bright it was. _

_"It's called Kusanagi."_

_Sasuke looked toward him with a confused look. Kusanagi was said to be a sword of legend, and he sheated the sword, knowing that no one but him had heard that statement. Only Orochimaru knew of the name of the sword, if it was even the sword of legend. _

_But Orochimaru didn't deign to answer, and instead walked away. _

_And as he did so he felt a snake twining about his leg, up his body, until it wrapped around his neck..._

Sasuke frowned in his sleep, being called out of slumber by movement. What he had thought was a snake was really legs disentangling from his, though he was still in a half-slumber.

Eventually he woke the rest of the way, feeling somewhat cold. His eyes opened and he looked for the pink-haired apparition who had stayed with him earlier. He frowned at her absence.

Where was she?

**A/N:** I hoped you guys liked this chapter. Most of it is memories but that's okay. You get to learn some past. Anyways, seriously review! I've gotten over a 160 hits but only like six reviews. And thank you very much for them. ;D I won't continue without reviews!


	3. III :Boom Boom, un

**Title: **A Prince In The Spring Time

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

**Summary:** A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

**Pairings:** Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

**Rating:** T for Teen

**A/N:** :D Thanks for the reviews guys. I really makes we want to keep going. Thanks to Laura-chan (Who's Fangirling story I absolutely love), siny, gaarafaves, ukeire, michelle, kagomes heart fleeting thought, Shinju Tenshi for reviewing. Sorry to anyone I might of missed. D A lot of people added to me and the story to the alert, thank you, but I would like your reviews to tell me what you think! D

Anyways: Sorry for postponing this chapter. I've just been worried about my partner not responding but I've finally gotten a response. Things are back on track. 8D

And….sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm rushing to post this. D

BTW! REVIEW! No reviews no chapters!

**Disclaimer:** This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

**Chapter Three:** Boom Boom, Un!

She, was letting the wind blow threw her hair. She sat high in a tree of the Sakura blossoms, one of her kind. Sakura felt calm at night with the full moon shining its light down upon her and the blossoms floating around her in the spell bound area of the forest. She gazed up at the star infected night sky and smiled. This type of scenery truly calmed her after that nightmare of a memory. She hugged the thick tree and leaned her head against it. She could here its pleading whispers.

_Sakura...Sakura..._

_Come play...play with us Sakura..._

Her eyes began to close and she muttered a soft "No, you know...," and that's when small parts of her began to dissolve into the small petals of a cherry blossom. The spirits were trying to lure her once again to play in spirit form. She couldn't do that though. Tsuande warned her that if she went into spirit form, she wouldn't be able to take on her human form for twenty years. Sakura bit her lip in pain to stop herself from joining her brothers and sisters in arms.

I'm sorry...Sakura thought sadly. She couldn't abandon her human form. She had to look after Tsuande and she couldn't burden Shizune-nee-chan witht that. Her adoptive older sister had only recently found love in Kakashi sensei and she didn't want to take that away from her nee-chan. Sakura ran her fingers over the bark and the spirits became to come out of the tree themselves to play. Even if they still couldn't get the daughter of their Queen to come and play as one of them, they would play in their human...ish forms.

The spirits began to appear out of the tree. Long flowing hair and limbs appeared in front of Sakura and their bright green eyes, like hers, stared at her. She smiled and put a hand out in front of her. The spirits wanted to feel her flesh, they didn't have any themselves. They poked, prodded and tickled. She giggled and drew her hand back. They flew around Sakura chattering about their own world.

"And Marcel actually managed to ask Cecilia out," one of them chattered. Sakura smiled. She turned her head to the male spirit who was blushing slightly. Marcel, Cecilia, and a whole bunch of the cherry spirits were her friends. "Aww, congrats Marcel. I know you've been crushing on her for awhile," Sakura cooed and the male spirit blushed harder. She continued to chatter with the spirits until they became stiff and alerted.

"Sakura," Marcel whispered into her ear from behind her, his long fingers holding her cheeks and gently caressing her rosy cheeks. "There are intruders in the east section. I don't think they're here by accident." Sakura's eyes hardened and her fist clenched. She hopped it wasn't the men who had been after the prince earlier. She'd be damned if she had to fight some weak men who underestimated her.

Sakura sighed and shooed the spirits to return back to their homes. They all smiled sadly at her and sunk back into the cherry trees. Sakura allowed herself to slip from the branch and land gracefully on the dirt floor. The ground was cold but even in bare feet, or exposed skin it didn't matter. On a cold night like this, Sakura pondered, the men must really be determined to get Sasuke if they would come in the middle of the chilly night. All she had to wear was her sleeveless red shirt and a pair of sweat pants. She blinked and heard voices from afar. Being a Halfling also heightened her senses.

She swiftly began to walk away from the house and trees, towards the men.

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Sasuke waited for a while, simply staring at the glowing embers of the fire. They still radiated heat, keeping the cottage warm, but they were nowhere near as blazing hot as they had been in the earlier hours of the night. He frowned slightly, controlling his chakra, concentrating and using it to make the embers flare up.

He had wondered if Sakura had simply gone for a breath of fresh air, but the longer he waited the uneasier he became. Surely she had been gone for a half hour if not more, and he was starting to get worried. She might be a halfling, but that only made her more of a target - the spirits of these woods weren't always benevolent.

He had always felt more in-tune with the immortals and fae, and the tree spirits and their kindred, and most of the magical beings, than most people. Perhaps it was his noble bloodline that allowed this, but he had never questioned it. It had always been natural to him.

The language came naturally to him, as well - spell words and the like. It was much easier, and he had a reserve of chakra most only dreamed of. Besides, the was the prince of these woods and the fields - the land was tied to royal blood, and if he had to he could calm any vengeful spirits. She might be half-fae, or whatever she was, but she was not meant to rule and be obeyed like he was, through his very lineage.

He stood from the bed on the couch, setting the covers down neatly, taking light steps across the floor. He still wore his white cotton shirt and black breeches, with a belt looped around them. He also took up Kusanagi, sliding into his belt, the blade within easy access. He had several other hidden weapons, but this was the one that he had treasured over the years.

When he left the cottage, he tread lightly, to make sure that he didn't wake the Lady Tsunade. She was strong and intelligent, to be sure, but it was only a hunch, he told himself. Just a feeling, a vague sense of foreboding - nothing to get worked up over.

He frowned as he stepped out of the cottage and scanned the Sakura trees. Their ink blossoms whirled about in the wind, and he could almost imagine that they formed humanoid shapes, faces with expressions and the wind through their petals voices. But then the wind died down, and the pink petals dropped to the ground, and he could see Sakura sitting there among the trees before beginning to walk off.

What was she doing, straying from the cottage? He frowned as he headed away from the cottage, in order to track her footsteps. She was, quite clearly, going somewhere with a purpose. Just _where_ she was going, he wasn't sure. But he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as he continued to walk, and he kept one hand on Kusanagi, and his ears open. This felt too much like a trap for his tastes.

He only hoped he wasn't right.

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The light foot steps behind her, told her she was being followed but she didn't care to look back. However her stalker would be, he or she, wouldn't have the element of surprise over her. She weaved in and out of the tangled forest following the sound of the men's voices. Her movements were graceful and posied like she was one with the forest.

Technically she was, but that was another point all together. She could see the flicker of a camp fire up ahead and she ducked behind a tree. No indication add been made that they sensed a intruder and she let out a relieve sigh. She could easily here to men's voices echoed throughout the night. "Seriously, I can't believe Master made us come out here just to search for his brother. If anything I want to get that little slut from earlier."

Sakura smirked and covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. These were the pitiful weak men that she had beaten earlier, for her it hadn't even been a fight. "That girl was a beast," one said and Sakura scowled. She was no beast, none what so ever. "That stength of her's and how she just made us immobile in a second was horrific." Sakura smirked. That was nothing of what she could do. Sakura found herself laughing and she heard the men jump up, startled. "Who's there?" One of them called.

She laughed even more and revealed herself, spinning around from behind the tree. "Hello boys. Glad to see me again?" She taunted. The men's eyes narrowed and drew their swords, crouching down in a defensive position. "Don't think you get beat us again you slut. This time we're prepared." Sakura laughed and clutched her stomach. "Wow, you guys are a hoot." Within seconds she disappeared from view and the men were crouched over, defeated and unconscious.

Sakura reappeared in the middle of the heap of men and nudged one of them with a toe. "Not even a challenge," she said darkly. Her inner wanted a good fight, some blood to be spilt. Sakura grinned and wiped her hands together in satisfaction. She began to walk away when she heard the swoosh of a cloak and the small thump of someone landing. Sakura froze when she heard the voice that called out to her. "Impressive un," the voice called from behind her. She could hear the smugness in the man's voice. She spun on her heel to face the man who 'complimented' her.

"Deidara," she spat. Her eyes narrowed and fist clenched. The blond man chuckled and crossed his arms. "It's a blast to see again Sa-ku-ra-chan," the man drawled. He grinned and the next thing she knew an explosion went off. Sakura brought her arms across her face to protect herself from flying debris as she went flying backwards, slamming into a hard, very hard in her opinion, tree. She grunted and shakily stood up, clenching her fist. An animalistic grin spread across her face. "Come to play Deidara?"

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Sasuke followed the pink-haired girl through the forest, making sure to stay close behind her. He might be tied to the land, but even that didn't exempt him from getting _lost_, and he didn't know these woods. He had usually only skirted the edges, as they weren't particularly good for hunting purposes.

He hung back from her, although he wondered if she perhaps sensed him. Well, he wasn't going to do anything to harm her, and it was just a vague hunch. She wouldn't be able to be mad at him for following her - after all, she hadn't forbidden him from doing so.

He stopped suddenly, as he heard the voices of two men. They spoke almost too loudly, comfortable in the fact that they were alone in the woods, and he immediately recognized them as two of the men who had ambushed them. He frowned, clenching his fist - they had taken down four of his men before they even noticed their presence, and had overwhelmed them with sheer force of numbers. An attack force of about thirty in all, versus the six that Sasuke had had with him. It was an ambush from the start, meant - apparently - to take his life.

His bastard of a brother had done this. Had ordered it. Sasuke clenched his fist - Itachi would die, if it took him to his own last breath to see it through. He had sworn on the graves of his parents, on the blade of the Kusanagi, and now on the death of his troops.

Sasuke watched as she dispatched of the two men in seconds, impressed with her skill. They were unconscious but not dead, a good thing - that meant that they could be questioned later, and interrogated. He still hung back, for the moment, before his eyes alighted on a white oversized bird that was unlike any that lived in this forest. Seconds later a man cloaked in black emblazoned with red clouds leaped from the back of the bird, landing on the ground.

He grinned and greeted Sakura, and Sasuke clenched his fist. He knew this man. Deidara, he worked with his older brother. Sasuke hated the both of them, and their entire brotherhood of knights - they said that they were fighting for a new world order or something of the sort. Sasuke could have laughed. All that they did was spread terror and attack innocents.

It seemed Sakura knew him as well, or at least knew his name. He watched on, interested - he wouldn't interfere, at least not yet. Deidara was a bastard, but attacking now could ruin the element of surprise later. He would just have to be vigilant - when it looked like the blond was off his guard, he would be free to attack. He loosened Kusanagi in its sheathe silently.

For now, he would watch and wait. And then he would interrogate the men hired to kill him, and he would be one step closer to finding his bastard of a brother and ending his life. He smiled slightly, and his dark eyes flashed under the moonlight.

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Sakura ears perked and her a sword being slightly loosened in it's sheath. Her eyes burrowed in confusion because Deidara didn't use a sword. Was someone else in the forest. As she pondered, Deidara stared at the small pink Halfling and laughed. "Tisk tisk tisk Sakura, un. You should be able to dodge those ones by now!" His bird came to a land on the dirt floor and he jumped off.

"You know that Deidara-kun is on a mission. Otherwise I wouldn't be wearing that cloak." He said with a foolish grin. Sakura scowled and crossed her arms. " Deidara and Sakura went way back to after Tsunade had adopted Sakura and before she had meet Naruto. Both shared the common interest of killing Itachi, her because he had murdered her parents and Deidara because in his words, "Itachi is a fucking man whore who thinks he's better then everyone else."

Sakura sighed and began to walk towards him. Deidara blinked a stretched out his arms. "Aww pinky-chan wants to give Deidei a hug." Sakura clenched her fist and continued to move towards him. Deidara grinned thinking he was going to get a hug from his belowed pink-chan. Sakura started to let chakra flow to her hand and brought her arm back. Deidara's eyes widened, knowing fully well that he was in trouble. Not to hard Sakura punched him in the gut and the blond went flying.

"THAT"S FOR SETTING OFF AN EXPLOSION ON ME AND CALLING ME PINKY YOU MORON!" Her eye twitched and she looked down at the men's camp fire. She brought her leg back and dug it into the earth. She kicked enough dirt on the flames to put it out. A few minutes later Deidara came crawling back with tears in his eyes. "Aww Sakura-chan. You didn't have to do that un." Sakura rolled her eyes and moved foreward towards him. Her body was almost pressing up to his and Deidara grinned. Sakura rolled her eyes and began to heal his gut.

"Thanks un!" He exclaimed wrapping his arms around her. Sakura stood still in his grip and yawned. It was the middle of the night and she was tired. "Deidara who are you after?" She questioned softly. Deidara looked down at the pink haired Halfling and sighed. "His brother. I heard he was taking housing around here somewhere so I came to check it out." Sakura's eyes narrowed and she pulled back from him. "Deidara you can't go after Sasuke." She stated.

Deidara blinked, confused. "Why not?" He said. Sakura gave him a pointed look. "He's under our protection. So back off. Besides why waste time when you know you won't bother to actually attack him. Knowing you, you would just set off some explosions to get injured and say you fought him like you always do. Then come to me to get them healed." Deidara nodded lightly and began to scramble onto his clay bird. "As you say Sakura-chan. I'll just say I couldn't find him." Deidara looked up at the sky for a second. He was thinking about something. "Sakura-chan, he's getting weak," Deidara started off slowly. "He's going blind."

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Sasuke continued to watch as the two conversed, almost like friends or at least like vague acquaintances. He clenched his fist around Kusanagi, almost snarling at their friendship. Didn't she realize that he was from a group that terrorized the very villages and people?

They were after her kind, as well, he had learned. Or not exactly her kind, but perhaps her kind's cousins. The powerful Bijuu, nine demons of incomparable power. They were legendary, for both their power and their mercilessness. The Kyuubi no Youko had been terrorizing the kingdom of Konoha for some time, taking the lives of both Naruto and his father.

This group, the Akatsuki, wanted to harness their power. Or at least that was according to Jiraiya, who Sasuke trusted as one of his advisers. Despite being ineligible to rule the kingdom - because of his status as a bachelor - he was still quite involved in politics. With the help of Kakashi, of course, he was effectively king.

Reminding him that he should return, to the castle. His horse had doubtlessly returned by now, if she hadn't been shot down. And he sincerely hoped not - she was a good, sturdy steed and wonderful to work with. But he wouldn't have put it past the Akatsuki bastards to capture or kill his horse, to delay news of his disappearance from reaching the castle.

Although that begged the question of _why_ they wanted to kill him. Deidara's presence suggested that it wasn't just Itachi involved, and that perhaps all of the Akatsuki were. He knew, vaguely, of the blond's dislike for his older brother - and all the more power to him, Itachi was a bastard through and through.

Sasuke was caught up in his thoughts, but his mind latched onto one thing that Deidara said. "He's going blind." His eyes widened, and he gasped in a breath, before returning to being completely silent. He froze, wondering if they had heard and figuring that they must have and preparing himself to fight if it were necessary.

But the words were still running through his head. Going blind. Losing his eyesight, becoming _weaker._ And Sasuke could have laughed, almost maniacally, in joy. That bastard was going blind, and that meant that he might have a chance at defeating him, a chance at seeing him fall. His breathing came fast and almost harsh.

Perhaps it was time to pay his brother his regards.

He would sure _enjoy_ the reunion.

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Deidara's eyes darted past Sakura and he grinned. He hopped onto his bird and took a seat. Un, your little prince followed us." Deidara only laughed as he took to the sky and flew off. Sakura clenched her fist and stood still for a moment. Sasuke had followed her? She swore and stalked off towards him. He was hiding behind a tree. She scowled at him and punch the tree behind it, turning it into splinters. "You know, it isn't polite to eavesdrop."

Sakura glared at him and stalked off heading back to the house. She was furious that he had followed her and then eavesdropped. It was rude and Sasuke was not yet someone she could trust. Reaching the cottage again she went inside and blinked. The fire had died down and she sighed. She put more wood in the fireplace and lit it back up. The fire blazed once more and Sakura didn't bother to take her spot on the couch. She settled on the floor, not wanting to share a bed with the raven haired prince.

Soon sleep came and so did a dreamless time. Later, the sun rose and streams of sunlight poured into the room. She spotted Sasuke sleeping on the couch. She blinked and rose from the floor, yawning. She went to a drawer and grabbed some clothes and headed outside. She went to the hot springs once more for her bath. When she was done she dressed in a black t-shirts and brown skirt. She walked back to the cottage and when she got there Tsunade was still sleeping. She smiled but didn't wake her master. Tsunade didn't have to be at the castle until the afternoon. Sasuke would probably return with her and that would be the last of him she saw, finally.

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Sasuke cursed inwardly, as Deidara heard his presence. He had given himself away, made his presence known, and he was an idiot for doing so. It seemed Sakura wasn't quite happy about it either, although he had only followed her to _protect_ her! How annoying, her jumping to conclusions like that.

Although he had been eavesdropping. But still, it was extremely annoying!

He _was_ slightly impressed, he supposed, with the way that she struck the tree with her fist and it splintered into pieces. Although considering that she was supposed to be a fae, or half-fae, he wondered if she was allowed to do that. Then again, he didn't know the intricacies of the fae. They could punch trees open for all he knew.

He glared at her, as she stalked off back to the house, annoyed. Just _what_ was she so annoyed about? And now _he_ was annoyed, and Deidara was ready to jump back on his white bird, before Sasuke turned to him, forgetting about Sakura for the moment. Itachi was far more important to him.

"Wait!" he commanded, his voice sharp. Deidara looked at him, pausing before his bird took off of the ground.

Sasuke frowned, steeling himself. "What's going on with Itachi? Why is he going blind?" he demanded, his eyes flashing into the Sharingan, his grip on Kusanagi tightening.

Deidara grinned at him. "Why would I tell you, un?" he asked, his voice matter-of-fact and nonchalant. Sasuke glared at him, annoyed, and Deidara shook his head. "I'll give you a hint, though - it has to do with those pretty red eyes of yours."

Sasuke gasped slightly, and before he could get over his shock, Deidara had taken to the air. Sasuke scowled, turning around and trudging back to the cottage, following the path that he had taken to get there. He frowned all the way there, heading inside. It was a little bit warmer, as the fire had been rekindled, and he lay down on the couch. Still fuming, he didn't even notice that Sakura wasn't still there.

When he woke up she was gone, and he looked around before deciding that he _didn't_ care. Annoying half-fae girl. He was better off without her. He glared at her, still miffed, as she came into the cottage. Fortunately, he would return today, and good riddance to the silly girl.

Still, it irked him. That she was so angry at him, simply because he had been _worried!_

He paused, wondering why he was saying it, but doing it anyways. "I didn't follow you to eavesdrop, you know," he said, a not of annoyance in his voice. He was quite pissed off at her, for being so bloody _annoying!_ He paused, and then thought better of what he was about to say. "Hn."

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Sakura laughed as he talked to her as she came back into the room. She cocked her head to the side and put her hands on her hips. "So you thought you would protect me then?" She said raising an eyebrow. She let out a small laughed and turned to where Tsunade laid. Maybe she would wake her master. After all, the quicker they got to the palace, the quicker Sasuke would be out of her hair.

Leaning over she shook her master lightly. Tsunade slowly began to wake up groggily. "Mhmm-Saku?" She laughed softly at her master's sleepy talk. "Time to get up Tsunade. You have to go to the castle and bring the stupid," Yes she insulted him because in her opinion very stupid. And arrogant and a bastard. "Prince with you." Tsunade rose from her bed with a sheepish grin. She yawned and ran a hand through her hair. "That stupid prince is who castle your going to." Tsunade stated. Sakura blinked, confused.

She was going to the castle? But Tsunade had never brought her to the castle before. "B-but," Sakura was bewildered. Did her master have confidence now in her ability? Or was it something else. Sakura blushed and turned to Sasuke. "Erm...I guess I'm going with you." She was slightly embarrassed. Calling him stupid had not been the best idea. She would probably end up locked in a prison cell the minute she stepped into the castle. She sighed and ran a hand through her. Tsunade gave her apprentice a look. "Go get ready," Tsunade commanded.

Sakura squeaked and ran upstairs. Tsunade using that tone of voice usually meant that this was important and Sakura had to look her 'best.' She ran into her own personal room, one that was used in the summer when the nights didn't go below freezing. She rummaged throughout the room and found the only dress she had. It was black with light green trim. It was pretty puffy and Sakura pouted. She pulled it on. It was sleeve less and styled like a corset. At her waist the material of the dress puffed out. Lace tied her bodice together.

Sakua sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look to bad she guessed but she wasn't the beautiful to start with. Sakura moved to her vanity table and began to piled her hair onto her head. She created three buns and used large clips that went over the buns to hold the hair in place. The clips were black with pink cherry blossoms decorating it. Bangs framed her face and she smiled. She strapped her only piece of jewelry, a pearl necklace with a large ruby that hung from it with two smaller emeralds on either side of it.

She placed two small pearls in her ears and deemed that Tsunade would be satisfied with how she looked. When she came back down the stairs Tsunade was already ready in her own dress. She smiled at her apprentice. "You look beautiful," her mentor complimented. Sakura faintly blushed and headed out the door. "Let's just get this over with." Sakura stated.

**A/N:** Another chapter finished. ;p Hope you enjoy.


	4. IV :Ribbit

**Title: **A Prince In The Spring Time

**Genre:** Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

**Summary:** A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

**Pairings:** Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

**Rating:** T for Teen

**A/N:** Mfihnbrwg0ieh-wrefsad!- XD Oh my god. I'm so sorry I haven't posted for like every. I kinda...didn't want to post a new chapter until we finished chapter six but I was really lazy and uninspired for like a month or so, so...I just replied to my co-author. XD Anyways I felt bad so I decided to put up chapter four...er early??? Anyways yah...I kind of got into Bleach (which is so fantastically amazing...Ichigo makes me drool XD) and such. Plus I had exams...and such. XD WOOT! My birthday is on Sunday. Woot...kinda. I share a birthday with Paris Hilton! ;; Anyways poll! Who would like to see a AU Bleach story from me and probably another co author?

**Disclaimer:** This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

**Chapter Four: **Ribbit

Sasuke glared at her, because she was right - he _had_ thought to protect her. But obviously that was quite useless, because she was chums with that idiot Deidara and could take care of herself against the people who had attacked him. Definitely _not_ what he had had in mind when he left the cottage earlier.

Although what he had had in mind, he had absolutely no idea. It had only been a vague feeling, a slight hunch, an apprehension in the air of something that would happen, was going to happen, and might have happened already. He shot a glare at her as she insulted him, letting her know of his utter contempt for how annoying she was. Letting her know that she was an _idiot_, and why should she blame him for trying to _help_ her?

Well, obviously she didn't _need_ his help.

Her closeness with Deidara really annoyed him. Or, what seemed like closeness. A mutual benefit relationship, about his _brother._ That one was strange as well, though for the moment he didn't spend time dwelling on it, instead content to brood over what it could mean if she was close to an Akatsuki. They were after him, and while it _seemed_ she was on his side in that confrontation... could he be sure? He wasn't entirely sure himself, and that annoyed him to no end because - quite honestly - he would rather know all of the facts than know none at all and go stumbling in blindly.

He glared at her contemptuously for a moment, before standing up stiffly from his place on the couch as she headed to get herself ready. He didn't have anything fancy - all of his formal wear was back at the castle, anyways, after all he hadn't taken banquet clothes out _riding_ with him. So he simply pulled on his shirt and black breeches and buckled Kusanagi to his side securely, making sure that each of his weapons was in its proper position.

He looked up at the fae-girl who returned from the back room, almost completely transformed. For a second he glanced over at her, amazed at the transformation. She had looked quite normal, but the dress was well-made and brought out her features well, and the clips in her hair made her look a lot more like fae than human.

Which, in his opinion, was a good thing. He had always thought that the sharp, defined, almost wild but stately features of the creatures were better than plain human ones. Still, this was _Sakura_, and he was still annoyed at her, so he scowled at her resolutely before turning away sharply.

"You're ready?" he snapped his voice annoyed and unhappy and generally _not_ in a good mood about having to travel with her back to the castle. Or having to spend time in her presence at all, for that matter, because she simply annoyed him _that_ much. And he had absolutely no idea why, and it frustrated him beyond all belief.

He scowled. "Good, let's go," he snapped, exiting the cottage swiftly.

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He was snappy and she suppressed a chuckle by snapping out the fan she had hidden in her sleeve. She whipped it open and covered her face with it. To him it might seem like she ignoring him but that was up to him to decide. She only replied with a slight, "Hmm," as she walked towards the stalls. Tsunade followed behind her with a grin. Sakura glanced back at her sensei and frowned. Her master seemed unusually happy, especially at since this time. Her master usually dislike going to the Uchiha castle, although it was usually because Orochimaru was present.

Sakura turned her back to the stable and chuckled lightly to herself. Tsunade always complained about the creepy snake man. She opened the door to the barn. The two white horses were already geared up, Tsunade always liked to be prepared. Sakura lead the two horses outside. She passed the reins of Tsunade's horse to her and held her own horse's face in her hands. The animal neighed and she kissed it on the cheek. "Time for a ride now Ichigo," she said softly to her horse. Only then did she finally realize that there were three people and only two horses. She glanced at Sasuke and then back at her master.

"Tsunade I-," she was suddenly cut off by Tsunade. The women merrily interrupted her student. "Ah Sakura-chan, looks like you and Sasuke-sama will have to ride with each other." Her master took her own words and used it against her. Sakura stood there with a gold fish like face and then scowled. Damn, Tsunade had gotten the best of her. "Hmph," she said mounting her horse first. She would be the one to lead Ichigo, not Sasuke. She waited patiently for Sasuke to get on the horse, Tsunade had already mounted her's. "Are you coming?" She snapped at the fair raven hair boy.

She disregarded his scowl and complaints as he mounted Ichigo behind her. As soon as he was on she lashed the reins and the horse began to gallop, Tsunade not far behind. The horse ran at a fast pace and Sakura leaned close to the horse body. She felt herself heating up as Sasuke pressed his body against her, hanging on for his life. The pair of horses and three people made quick work of getting out of the forest and onto the main road. Sakura didn't slow down, noting the position of the time in the sky. Tsunade and she were going to be late if they slowed down. The wind made her bangs fly across her face and she was very grateful she pinned the rest of her hair up.

Otherwise she would be completely blind. Sakura's dress road up her legs as she didn't ride like a lady. She road with both bare legs on either side of the horse. Soon enough the three of them made it to the castle. The guards obviously recognized Tsunade's horse though they were unsure of the other horse and the two people on it. Sakura, although never being in the castle herself, knew exactly where to go. Tsunade had described it to her so many times it was as if Sakura had been in the castle grounds may times over. Slowing down, she finally came to a stop.

The stable tendent noticed them, but most of all Sasuke. The man's mouth dropped and he started to shout, "LORD SASUKE IS ALIVE!" Sakura blinked and dismounted the horse and Sasuke did them same. The man kept shouting that Sasuke was alive and the guards started to gather, all babbling about how they were glad he was okay. Sakura rolled her eyes and took out her fan again whipping it open. She began to fan herself with an annoyed look on her face. "You sure are popular Sasuke-sama," she said quite sourly noting that know she was on his land, she had to be polite.

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Sasuke mounted the horse without a word, not speaking to either of them. Of course he was annoyed at Tsunade for sticking him with the pink-haired annoyance, but that was quite normal. Tsunade probably thought that it would be good for him - or her. Either way, it was not his idea of fun.

The horse rode easily and without complaint, though he wished he was astride his mare as he rode with her. Infernal woman, this was extraordinarily annoying. Even if Sakura did smell rather nice, almost like something tropical, almost exotic. He was wondering if this was her fae blood when he caught himself.

He rode rigidly - not the smartest, but he didn't care. He was an experienced rider, of course, and he knew the perils of not melding with the horse. But he really did wish he was astride his faithful mare, a sweet-tempered creature built for stamina and speed. It almost made him wonder if she had made it back to the castle alright, and that in turn made him wonder if they had been worried. He had been gone for more than a day, he knew, and unless his mare had been killed the absence of her rider would have tipped them off that he was missing.

They rode in on the horses as quickly as possible,, stabling them without being noticed, before a stable attendant noticed his return. He stared at the kid for a second, before realizing that they _had_ been worried about his safe return, and had probably sent out search parties and the like. _Great_. He would probably be reprimanded, and that would not be fun.

He gave Sakura a wry look, as people started to gather, talking about how he was alive and what happened, and his horse came back and they feared the worst. It seemed she had been injured, though he hadn't noticed - after all, he'd been pretty bad off himself. Taking an arrow in the initial ambush had not been the smartest thing that he had done, but fortunately he was still alive.

The people began to throng around, staring and gawking at their prince who was alive. Sasuke sighed, annoyed, at all of the attention. Sometimes it was nice being royalty, but this was not one of those times, when he simply wanted to get to Kakashi and discuss the attack, Akatsuki, and what Deidara had let slip about his brother.

He tried to push through the crowd, grabbing Sakura's arm as he did so, quite annoyed with everyone. "Move, please," he said, and despite the polite phrasing his tone was not polite at all. He gave the people a stern look, attempting to get through the crowd, dragging an unwitting Sakura along with him.

One of the girls noticed this, and she stepped in front of him with wide eyes. **"Is she your fiancée?"** she asked, almost timidly. But she was standing in his way and extremely annoying, and Sasuke was impatient anyways and so he ignored the question for the most part, pushing past her.

"Yes, she is, now will you _move_?" he demanded, his voice sharp and not to be trifled with. He didn't realize a thing of what he had said, absolutely nothing, too caught up in Akatsuki to realize that he had made a big, big, big mistake.

But he pushed through the crowd, still dragging Sakura with him, and headed for the interior of the castle, where Kakashi would _hopefully_ be.

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She was pretty offended when he grabbed her wrist and began to drag her along with him through the crowd of his loyal subjects. Tsunade followed behind them with an amused grin on her face. A few people bowed to her master knowing who Tsunade was and Tsunade just waved it off. She watched her student and the prince in amusement. Her eyebrows shot up when she heard what Sasuke said to the timid girl.

_**"Is she your fiancée?"**_

_"Yes, she is, now will you move?" _

She let out her own laugh and watched to see how this would play out. Shizune would of loved this. Sakura's pupils narrowed as Sasuke announced she was his fiancée. Fiancée, what in the world? Upset and seriously confused she yanked her hand away from Sasuke. "I-I beg your pardon?" She stuttered standing there staring at him in disbelief. She could easily feel the murderous glares, all from fan girls she assumed, against her back. A drop of sweat fell down Sakura's face and she continued to stare at Sasuke. "I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!" She said biting her lip and turning on her heal. A rippled of voices went through the crowd. "Why is she running away?" They all said.

How could he say that? She ran away from him, right through the crowd. Maybe he didn't mean it but she certainly wasn't going to stand around there and let people think she was. She tore out of the castle grounds and headed for the lake near by. Seriously, did he really think she would go along with that statement. After running for a while she collapsed under a tree by the water. She took a deep breathe in and took the clip out of her hair.

The rest of her hair tumbled down to her shoulders in light waves and she closed her eyes with a small sigh. God, did he not know not to spring something like that on a girl? Getting married was a serious business and she certainly wasn't going to marry some guy. She barely knew him and she certainly didn't love him. Even if he was the prince.

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Sasuke felt her hand slip from his, just as all of the crowd gasped, and he looked back toward the girl who was leaving incredulously. She was running out? On _him_? Why would she do that, why would she want to? He had been bringing her with him in order to talk to Kakashi about her connections with Akatsuki, and now she had slipped off on him!

He scowled slightly, looking after her with a slightly bewildered expression on his face. Marry him? He hadn't said anything about _that!_ Although, come to think of it, what had he just responded to? A question about...

About his fiancée.

Oh, shit.

Well, that was certainly an annoyance. He had been impatient and made a mistake, despite the urgency of speaking to Kakashi about Akatsuki. He scowled, wondering where she had run off to before turning around on his heel. Speaking to Kakashi was more important, and she wouldn't leave without Tsunade, who would be staying for a while. She usually stayed for at least a week, although Sakura could be going home earlier. But not that early - her horse was sweat-streaked and tired from their ride to the castle.

She would have to stay the night, at least, so he had all of that time to question her about Akatsuki. Right now it was important to confirm that he was alive and speak of what he had learned to his regent. He would have gone to Kakashi, but Tsunade called out for him.

"Uchiha-sama," she spoke, her voice sharp - and despite him being the prince, the tone was an order to stop and pay attention to her. He scowled at being stopped in his quest to find his mentor, but turned around to face her anyways.

"Find her and explain yourself," Tsunade ordered, and he gave her an incredulous look. His eyes widened, before snapping into a glare, as she continued on. "I will let Kakashi-sama know that you are alive."

Sasuke glared at her. "And why would I do that?" he demanded, his voice sharp, annoyed at being delayed in bringing his news that doubtlessly Tsunade hadn't heard. Did she know that her pupil caroused with _criminals_? Probably not, he thought contemptuously - Kakashi needed to know this right away.

Tsunade frowned at him. "Just do it," she snapped, obviously just as annoyed at his callousness, and the two glared at each other for a moment before she continued. "If you come back without her, I won't be happy, Uchiha-sama. Get moving."

A clear order. And she was one of the few people who could give them to him - the sannin and Kakashi were the only four, and he still hated it. Especially the reprimand. He glared at her for a moment, before he turned on his heel and headed after where Sakura had gone, wandering slightly aimlessly, wondering where she might be. Probably not within the castle grounds, that was for sure.

He stayed away from populated areas - thinking that Sakura would want to be alone, and also that he wanted to avoid the throngs of people joyous at his return. Instead he stuck to the paths that skirted the gardens, where people seldom went. That was where he saw her.

He sat down beside her, wondering if she would run away from him again, and hoping not. That would make this task from Tsunade a whole lot more annoying, and it wasn't like he wanted to do this anyways. He scowled at the water, not looking at her for a moment, before speaking.

"It would be a good idea, you know," he told her, his voice moody and slightly annoyed. He wasn't going to take back his words, or apologize, although he probably should but that didn't matter very much to him anyways. He frowned even deeper. "You know Akatsuki, and I'm also searching for Itachi. We could _help_ each other. I do need a fiancée, and you would be a good choice. That's all."

Perhaps not the best explanation, and it hadn't been why he had said it, but he'd had a lot of time to think about it and wonder about what he had said, almost like a subconscious slip. His eyes drifted over to her face, hidden by pink hair, and his frown eased just slightly.

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She bristled as he sat down beside him and she fought the urge to run away. Her hands grasped the grass on either side of her and she took a deep breathe in. He easily explained that there would be benefits and they shared the same goals. That maybe true, she thought. But she could easily achieve her goal without him, at least, that was her opinion. She let out a sigh and let herself look at him. He was staring at her so intently that she blushed.

The pink swept across her cheeks and she turned and looked at the water instead. The light reflected off the cool liquid and she smiled. "I understand that we share the same goals Uchiha-sama," she said softly, trying to calm herself. She would not let her emotions get in the way. "But I refuse to marry a man who I do not know, and I know is not asking me to marry him because of love. I am very honored that you would ask me Uchiha-sama but there a plenty of other 'fish' in the sea." She said. She turned her bright green eyes on him and gave him a pained smile.

"Besides, why would you want a Halfling as your wife?" She consciously traced the red marks that surrounded her eyes. She gave him one more bitter smile before standing up. She gave him a curt bow. "I must return to Tsunade Uchiha-sama," she paused wondering what else she should say. "I guess...I will see you at tonight's dinner." She quickly excused herself and hurried away from the handsome prince.

She clutched the fabric of her dress and headed back to the castle. She searched for Tsunade, seriously wondering where she could of gone. She had searched the outer parts of the castle, so she guessed Tsunade had already gone inside. Sakura sighed and was currently in the castle garden. She felt at ease around the beautiful flowers of the area and she laid down against the cool smooth surface of a bench that rested by a pond. As she laid there, with her hair sprawled out, she turned her hair to look at the pond. There immediately she saw a frog staring at her. Sakura laughed slightly to herself remembering her words to Sasuke. "Ah Uchiha-sama you sure are something," she said out loud to herself.

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Sasuke watched her get up and leave, as she spoke to him, refusing to marry him. And he was almost relieved, because he didn't exactly want to marry her anyways - he had already established that she was annoying. He scowled at her slightly, before leaning back against the log that was his perch.

Not exactly what he had expected. Then again, he hadn't really been expecting anything, so he wasn't quite sure what to think. Just that it was odd, and that her words intrigued him somehow. Plenty of other fish in the sea? Oh, yes, he knew that - most certainly. The ladies tended to throw themselves at him with abandon, and it was quite annoying. All of them, in all seriousness, were extraordinarily annoying.

And she had admitted that she was a Halfling. Of course, he knew - from the markings on her skin and her cherry-pink hair - her parentage, or he had guessed. Still, it was the first time that she had admitted so verbally, told him that she was one of the fae-people, and he was actually rather startled.

Startled enough to think about what it would mean, to have a half-fae bride. There was the old prejudice, of course - one that most intellectuals knew was a load of idiocy - but would that even be an issue? And then on the flipside, his bloodline would be tied not only to the land but to the fae-people; it would unite two kingdoms, and might actually be a smart thing to do for the sake of the kingdom. Marrying her would be _intelligent._ As annoying as she might be.

He frowned.

Now that the idea was in his head, it wouldn't get out. That he could work with her, that they could perhaps attain their mutual goal, that they would see it fulfilled. And even not as a wife, he found it would be beneficial to perhaps work alongside her for a time.

He frowned as he got up. He would speak to Tsunade about it.

After all, she couldn't yell at him if Sakura found her first, although the girl might speak to Tsunade before he did. He shook his head, annoyed and slightly frustrated, before he headed back to the castle, to go give the worried people physical proof that he was alive.

How completely annoying.

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Slowly, laying on that bench the pink hair Halfling started to drift off to sleep. Maybe she blamed staying up so late last night, maybe she blamed the intoxicating spell of the flowers around her. So laying there in the bright garden, full of life and spell did Haruno Sakura drift off into unwanted dreamland. As her eye fluttered shut, she did not notice the dark looming figure hiding behind a tall white pillar.

_Sakura tucked a piece of long pink hair behind her ears and she continued to pluck petals from a healing flower. Her green eyes glittered with delight as she hummed while she did her work. The fourteen year old was giddy with delight as today her dear knight, Uzumaki Naruto, was coming to visit. In was only a little while until the blonde haired, cerulean blue eyed boy would arrive at Tsunade, Shizune's, and Sakura's house. Finished filling the small black velvet bag with the petals she had requested, Sakura stood up and stretched her legs. She let out a small yawn and looked around. _

_This was a familiar groove she came to, most of Tsunade's herbs had been planted there. She smiled and turned on her heel heading back to the small cottage. The smell of cherry blossoms entered her senses and she looked up at the grand trees, still in bloom, as they had always been since Sakura had been there. Sakura smiled and quickly headed into the cottage. She tiptoed into Tsunade's office and suppressed a laugh when she saw Tsunade and Shizune arguing about Tsunade drinking and not doing her work. _

_The Halfling couldn't hold it in much longer and began to laugh. Tsunade and Shizune looked away from each other and at Sakura. "Sakura-chan it's almost noon. Shouldn't you be getting ready for Nauto-kun?" The short black haired women, Shizune asked. Sakura blinked and yelped remembering what time it was. She chucked the small black velvet bag at Tsunade and rushed up the stairs to her room. She basically crashed into her bed, going way to fast to stop naturally. Sakura groaned and rose from her bed. She placed a hand on her forehead for she felt dizzy and then blinked! She had to get ready for Naruto-kun. _

_Stripping out of the 'rags' she had been collecting in, she threw on a simple green dress and threw up her hair. She placed the necklace Naruto had given her, it was really special he said, the one with a large ruby that sat in the middle with two emeralds on either side, strung with pearls. She smiled and dashed to her window when she heard a voice calling. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan," came Naruto's loud, but sweet, voice to her ears. As she peered down at him she could see him on his black horse, waving eagerly. _

_"Ohyaha Naruto-kun!" She yelled down. Naruto beamed back up at her and dismounted his horse. Sakura turned from her window and raced down stairs and out the door. She launched herself at the grinning blond and he caught her in his arms, swinging around. The both laughed and he set her down on the ground. With a smile on her face, she tiptoed and kissed him on the lips tenderly. Naruto, who loved his Sakura-chan very much but was still not use to affection, blushed and kissed her back. Sakura grinned as she pulled away and gave him a large hug. "I miss you Naruto!" She exclaimed burying her face into his chest. _

_Naruto wrapped his arms around her and looked down at her sadly. "Ah, I missed you too Sakura-chan," he said softly resting his chin on her head. They stood there like that for a few minutes before Naruto remembered what he was doing. He pulled back from Sakura and fished something from his pocket. Sakura blinked wondering what he was doing. Naruto rubbed his hair sheepishly and got down on one knee. Sakura blinked and finally realized what he was doing. She let out a small gasp as he took her hand in his. _

_"Haruno Sakura," Naruto had her full name of course. By now she figured out what telling him her name had done when they had first meet, but he probably still didn't know. Naruto took in a deep breathe, and she thought he looked absolutely adorable with a pink blush across his cheeks. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" He finished. He looked up with her with his eyes full of hope. Tears welled in Sakura's eyes and she launched herself into her arms. "Of course Naruto, of course!" Naruto hugged her once more sadly. _

_"Ah Sakura-chan, it's a promise of a life time."_

Sakura awoke when the she heard a frog croak. She sat up immediately and her fingers brushed against her tears streaked cheeks. Why had she cried at that memory? Was it because after that promise, he never came back to her? Sakura held back a sob remembering her late lover. That had been the last time, the most happiest time, she had ever seen him. Before he had gone out on that mission...and died. Angrily she whipped the tears away from her eyes.

She should of been over that. Two years had passed and was she still wallowing in grief? Angrily she stood up and was about to leave the gardens when a voice interrupted her. "Ah, Ssssakura-chan," a cool, creepy voice said. She vaguely heard the slurp of a tongue. "How niccccee, to see you again." Sakura looked up and her eyes widened slightly.

"Orochimaru."

**A/N**: Alright! Chapter four finished! Errrmmm...reviews are nessicary to continue. Errm...there are less page views for these later chapters. Is it getting boring??? XD


	5. Author Note

Authors Note:

Authors Note:

To people who have been reading A Prince In Spring.

The story is done, over and utterly dead.

I am truly sorry for this but my computer went high wire and it had to be whipped.

Meaing I lost everything.

And it was a joint story and I can't get the posts back,

So it's done. I'm really sorry!!

To Username: Cherry Pop readers.

Seriously, I don't like it. I like the concept but not my writing.

So only two chapters in, I'm going to stop the production of this story,

Rewrite it and write a couple good other chapters before I start posting again.

It will be posted as a separate story so you'll have to find it if you aren't apart of my alert thingy.

Sorry. I just rush things.

I also want to determine what kind of writing style I will be using for this story so give me some time to think okay?


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